1 00:00:00,560 --> 00:00:02,960 Welcome to the Illuminate Church podcast. 2 00:00:03,400 --> 00:00:05,520 We hope today's message is encouraging to you. 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:15,680 Many times in the Old Testament we see the same thing as you 4 00:00:15,680 --> 00:00:19,160 read to the Scriptures and that same thing as the people of God 5 00:00:19,480 --> 00:00:24,800 recounting their story. They're giving the testimony of 6 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:28,120 Israel and they usually gather together and then they share 7 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,680 this entire story of Israel. If you look in Deuteronomy 8 00:00:31,680 --> 00:00:34,840 chapters 1 to 4, you will see the story of Israel. 9 00:00:34,840 --> 00:00:40,280 Joshua chapter 24, verses 1 to 13, Psalm 76, entire Psalm 78, 10 00:00:40,280 --> 00:00:43,800 excuse me, the entire story of Israel, Psalm one O 4 and one O 11 00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:47,080 5, the same thing. Nehemiah Chapter 9, verses 5 to 12 00:00:47,080 --> 00:00:49,600 38, they're telling their story once again. 13 00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:54,600 Ezekiel chapter 20, they're together recounting their story. 14 00:00:54,600 --> 00:00:57,960 Why? Well, of course to remember 15 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:02,880 God's faithfulness, but also to teach their children this is 16 00:01:02,880 --> 00:01:05,040 what God has done. This is what he's brought us 17 00:01:05,040 --> 00:01:07,920 through to renew their covenant, which is in a way their, their 18 00:01:07,920 --> 00:01:11,000 time to renew their commitment to the Lord to to repent of 19 00:01:11,000 --> 00:01:13,160 sins. Sometimes if you think of what 20 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:15,200 God has done in your life and you remember what God has done 21 00:01:15,200 --> 00:01:18,360 in your life, it makes you go, wow, I should live like he's 22 00:01:18,360 --> 00:01:20,720 done something in my life instead of the way that I'm 23 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:22,520 living. And I'm going to return them it. 24 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:25,080 It caused them to unify as a people, that caused them to 25 00:01:25,080 --> 00:01:27,960 worship God. And certainly as they told their 26 00:01:27,960 --> 00:01:30,720 story, would help them to find hope in any crisis. 27 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:33,840 Because if this is what God has done, then surely this is what 28 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:36,800 God will do. And my current here and now, if 29 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,560 I remember the story. And so the Israelites were doing 30 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:42,720 this constantly. It was a dynamic practice for 31 00:01:42,720 --> 00:01:44,800 them. It would help them to keep their 32 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:47,920 faith alive and it would help them also to have identity 33 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:50,760 together as a people. This is our story. 34 00:01:52,160 --> 00:01:55,200 Our story. So this morning, very briefly, 35 00:01:55,640 --> 00:01:58,120 because so many new people are here at Illuminate Church over 36 00:01:58,120 --> 00:02:02,000 the last few years, I want to tell you our story as a 37 00:02:02,000 --> 00:02:05,280 testament to the Lord our God and His faithfulness. 38 00:02:05,480 --> 00:02:08,280 And then as a response to that story, I want you to meet a 39 00:02:08,280 --> 00:02:11,880 special guest so that we together can give God a gift as 40 00:02:11,920 --> 00:02:13,040 a thank you. Amen. 41 00:02:14,040 --> 00:02:18,160 Our story begins when people sailed across the ocean and 42 00:02:18,160 --> 00:02:21,120 landed here in America. I mean, how far back do you go 43 00:02:21,320 --> 00:02:23,280 when Jesus died on the cross? I mean we. 44 00:02:23,280 --> 00:02:24,840 Could go all the. Way back, but I'm just going to 45 00:02:24,840 --> 00:02:28,560 start in 2010 when God called myself, my wife Christine and at 46 00:02:28,560 --> 00:02:30,960 the time our two kids, we didn't have Eli yet. 47 00:02:31,520 --> 00:02:32,840 It's kind of crazy to think about. 48 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:39,200 He called us here to lead a campus of the Crossing Church 49 00:02:39,200 --> 00:02:41,600 which is a big ol mega church over in Tampa that we were 50 00:02:41,600 --> 00:02:44,360 serving at and there was a. Church here. 51 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,160 Locally that was dying, for lack of a better term. 52 00:02:47,440 --> 00:02:50,440 And the the doors are about to close and the dream was going to 53 00:02:50,440 --> 00:02:52,920 die for this church here in Central Florida. 54 00:02:53,040 --> 00:02:56,600 But God said I'm not done here yet. 55 00:02:57,400 --> 00:03:00,600 And so we came over, we adopted this church and we became the 56 00:03:00,600 --> 00:03:03,400 crossing church in Celebration. We met at reunion for a while 57 00:03:03,400 --> 00:03:06,800 and we moved to the high school, Celebration high School and we 58 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:08,960 would set up the screen. We called it Godzilla because it 59 00:03:08,960 --> 00:03:11,320 was a massive screen. It was kind of like this big, 60 00:03:11,320 --> 00:03:14,880 but we set it up every week. And then Pastor Greg Dumas would 61 00:03:14,880 --> 00:03:16,680 preach on that screen from Tampa. 62 00:03:17,840 --> 00:03:21,040 The problem was no one in Orlando knew Pastor Greg from 63 00:03:21,040 --> 00:03:24,400 Tampa and they were used to live preaching and now they got a 64 00:03:24,400 --> 00:03:26,680 screen and this, the campus wasn't working. 65 00:03:27,760 --> 00:03:30,040 It was kind of like flapping in the wind. 66 00:03:31,680 --> 00:03:34,440 And so the leadership of the crossing called us up. 67 00:03:34,440 --> 00:03:36,360 They're like, hey, how's your Wednesday? 68 00:03:36,360 --> 00:03:37,160 Good. OK, good. 69 00:03:37,160 --> 00:03:38,720 We're closing the campus and you're moving home. 70 00:03:40,360 --> 00:03:41,880 It's like what? We just moved over here. 71 00:03:42,920 --> 00:03:49,040 We huh, what do we do? So at that point, that church 72 00:03:49,040 --> 00:03:52,400 again would have ceased to exist and that would have been the end 73 00:03:52,400 --> 00:03:54,560 of the story for that church here in Central Florida. 74 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:59,200 But God said I'm not done here yet. 75 00:03:59,840 --> 00:04:02,080 He spoke to the leadership of the crossing church and he spoke 76 00:04:02,080 --> 00:04:04,040 to our family and a lot of families that were around that 77 00:04:04,040 --> 00:04:05,760 time. And we decided together that it 78 00:04:05,760 --> 00:04:08,440 was time to plant a new church here in Central Florida out of 79 00:04:08,440 --> 00:04:10,720 these two other churches. And that church was called 80 00:04:10,920 --> 00:04:16,079 Illuminate Church. October 7th, 2012 we held our 81 00:04:16,079 --> 00:04:18,360 first service at Celebration High School. 82 00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:22,400 Amen. 354 people showed up. That first Sunday. 83 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:28,360 Y'all I preached so well. Here's a picture of me. 84 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:30,720 Preaching that very first Sunday, by the way, I think we 85 00:04:30,720 --> 00:04:34,560 have, Yep, there it is, just a kid. 86 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:38,160 I had no beard back then. I had a lot of nothing back 87 00:04:38,160 --> 00:04:41,280 then. But yeah, the first series, 88 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:45,400 Miracle Maker, I remembered I preached so well that the next 89 00:04:45,400 --> 00:04:55,520 Sunday we had 114 people. Yep, the the fastest degrowing 90 00:04:55,520 --> 00:04:58,880 church in America. Yeah, a lot of people that come 91 00:04:58,880 --> 00:05:00,320 over from Tampa. My parents were there. 92 00:05:00,320 --> 00:05:01,240 A whole bunch of people were there. 93 00:05:01,240 --> 00:05:03,280 And then the next week they went back to their churches, like, 94 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:09,480 wait a second, 114 people, That's what we started with. 95 00:05:09,560 --> 00:05:12,920 And four of them was my family, and ten of them at least were 96 00:05:12,920 --> 00:05:20,000 Tafts and everyone else, right? Oh man, 114 people who believe 97 00:05:20,000 --> 00:05:24,280 with all their heart that God wanted to make disciples in our 98 00:05:24,280 --> 00:05:27,360 region. Over the next few years, as the 99 00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:29,520 church formed an identity, which took a minute. 100 00:05:29,520 --> 00:05:31,680 Were we the crossing where we celebrate church? 101 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:34,800 No, we are Illuminate church. And we fulfilled Our Calling. 102 00:05:34,800 --> 00:05:37,520 We grew and we grew. People are being saved. 103 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:41,000 People are being baptized. And we waited and we looked and 104 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:44,000 we said, God, is there a place that you would give us for our 105 00:05:44,000 --> 00:05:46,840 home? A place that we could plant a 106 00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:50,560 flag and declare that this region belongs for Jesus? 107 00:05:50,680 --> 00:05:55,800 Is there a place? Well, in 2018, I made a back 108 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:59,800 hallway deal. I literally signed the contract 109 00:05:59,800 --> 00:06:02,200 for the land that we're on in the back hallway of the high 110 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:07,400 school right before Vision Sunday, January 7th. 111 00:06:07,400 --> 00:06:13,160 Also 2018 and that day nobody knew except for the elders and a 112 00:06:13,160 --> 00:06:14,720 few others that we had bought land. 113 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:17,600 They just came to a normal church service expecting normal. 114 00:06:17,600 --> 00:06:19,760 And I said, hey, I want to show you a video. 115 00:06:19,920 --> 00:07:58,870 And I showed them this video. I just realized that guy looks a 116 00:07:58,870 --> 00:08:01,590 little bit like me. That's not me, not even close. 117 00:08:01,590 --> 00:08:03,750 That's Josh Sakis. Our it was a youth director, 118 00:08:03,750 --> 00:08:07,270 youth pastor here for a while. And when we showed that video, 119 00:08:07,870 --> 00:08:11,760 the place went bonkers. People in the back were weeping. 120 00:08:13,800 --> 00:08:15,680 I was, it's like a football game happened. 121 00:08:16,680 --> 00:08:21,400 And it was the craziest thing because I told them like, we are 122 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:23,520 not dreaming or thinking about this. 123 00:08:23,520 --> 00:08:27,920 This morning I signed the contract and the feeling in the 124 00:08:27,920 --> 00:08:32,840 room was like, God has done it. It's finally happening. 125 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:35,200 We're going to take the land. We called it the promise, a home 126 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,280 and that God was finally promised promising to give us a 127 00:08:39,280 --> 00:08:41,440 home. We continue to grow as we were 128 00:08:41,440 --> 00:08:42,960 getting ready to to go on the land. 129 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:45,360 People are excited about it that the church that the high school 130 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:48,840 began to fill out and get packed out and then 2020 happened, 131 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:55,120 little thing called COVID happened and during COVID this 132 00:08:55,120 --> 00:08:57,600 church that it's been eight years or so or six or seven 133 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,880 years, however long it takes to get from 2012 to 2020, that's 134 00:09:00,880 --> 00:09:02,080 eight. I could do the math. 135 00:09:03,040 --> 00:09:07,040 We grew from 114 people on a weekend to about 600 people on a 136 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:08,960 weekend. And then like overnight 250 137 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:12,080 people vanished. By the time we were able to 138 00:09:12,080 --> 00:09:14,840 regather at the high school, we were back down to like 300, 139 00:09:14,840 --> 00:09:17,880 three, 150. And I thought, Lord is are you 140 00:09:17,880 --> 00:09:22,840 done here? And God said, I'm not done here 141 00:09:22,840 --> 00:09:28,480 yet in Jesus name. Also another bonus of COVID 142 00:09:28,480 --> 00:09:32,120 supply chain issues. You remember that anyone? 143 00:09:33,880 --> 00:09:36,960 The building that was supposed to cost $6 million went up to 144 00:09:36,960 --> 00:09:42,560 almost $12 million. And at that point I was like, 145 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:45,600 OK, God, you must be done. There's no way. 146 00:09:46,040 --> 00:09:48,640 There's like 400 of us. How in the world are we going to 147 00:09:48,640 --> 00:09:53,800 do $12 million? Not possible. 148 00:09:55,360 --> 00:09:59,720 With man it's not possible, but with God, how much is possible? 149 00:10:00,840 --> 00:10:03,600 All things are possible. God said, I'm not done here yet. 150 00:10:03,600 --> 00:10:06,560 Do you know that? Why we're here on this land, in 151 00:10:06,560 --> 00:10:09,360 this building together, celebrating 13 years. 152 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:10,720 Do you know why? I'll tell you why. 153 00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:15,560 Because God gave his heart to this region and said, I want the 154 00:10:15,560 --> 00:10:20,600 people of this region to know of my love and my power and that 155 00:10:20,600 --> 00:10:22,960 they can have abundant life in Jesus Christ. 156 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:27,160 And he gave those 400 people an opportunity and those 400 people 157 00:10:27,320 --> 00:10:33,720 seized it with faith and action in an unbelievable way. 158 00:10:33,840 --> 00:10:38,080 This little group of people gave huge, gave big. 159 00:10:38,240 --> 00:10:42,880 It's stunning when I tell you all that they gave when we when 160 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,440 we said, hey, it's time to give towards the promise of home. 161 00:10:45,560 --> 00:10:49,080 We said it's never about equal gifts because we all have 162 00:10:49,080 --> 00:10:53,160 different abilities in terms of giving, but it is about equal 163 00:10:53,160 --> 00:10:56,960 sacrifice that we will all put it on the line to say we want to 164 00:10:56,960 --> 00:10:59,120 see this dream fulfilled. And what we asked the people to 165 00:10:59,120 --> 00:11:02,840 do is give one large gift at the beginning and then give monthly 166 00:11:02,840 --> 00:11:05,760 for the next two years and they did it. 167 00:11:06,400 --> 00:11:11,520 Someone family sold a condo and gave $500,000 the entire proceed 168 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:13,600 of the condo. Another family gave a piece of 169 00:11:13,600 --> 00:11:16,560 land in North Carolina and we went to look up the land and we 170 00:11:16,560 --> 00:11:20,760 found out that the land was on Promised Land Rd. in North 171 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:21,600 Carolina. I'm not kidding. 172 00:11:21,840 --> 00:11:23,600 The promise of home on Promised Land Rd. 173 00:11:23,720 --> 00:11:26,480 Somebody gave Facebook stock. You're sitting in a seat bought 174 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:30,040 by Facebook stock, Can you? But some people gave jewelry, 175 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:33,040 some people gave coin collections. 176 00:11:33,440 --> 00:11:35,880 Some people like our family, we took a big swipe out of a 177 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:39,520 retirement and it's like, God, we believe, go and do it. 178 00:11:39,760 --> 00:11:42,000 All of these people gave and they gave and they gave. 179 00:11:42,000 --> 00:11:44,640 And at the end of two years with the supply chain issues, I said, 180 00:11:44,640 --> 00:11:47,320 would you go one more year, Another year? 181 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:49,920 And a whole bunch of people said, yes, we'll go one more 182 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:52,240 year. Exactly. 183 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:56,920 This project with the land, everything that you see, all the 184 00:11:56,920 --> 00:12:00,280 lights, all the kids ministry, all the staff, all the the dirt, 185 00:12:00,280 --> 00:12:03,520 the retention pond, the parking, all the trees, all of it 186 00:12:03,520 --> 00:12:07,720 combined is $16,000,000. And this original group of 187 00:12:07,720 --> 00:12:12,040 people, the OGS, gave $7,000,000. 188 00:12:13,080 --> 00:12:21,160 Are you hearing what I'm saying? There's another part of the 189 00:12:21,160 --> 00:12:23,520 story that's not even included in the $7,000,000. 190 00:12:23,520 --> 00:12:25,960 When we found out the price of the building skyrocketed. 191 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:29,280 It was one day the reports came back like, here's the new cost 192 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,760 of your building. Pastor Kim and I were sitting in 193 00:12:34,360 --> 00:12:36,880 right in front of the old offices in the car, like, wow, 194 00:12:38,000 --> 00:12:40,960 what's going to happen now? There's no, I mean, we're going 195 00:12:40,960 --> 00:12:44,120 to have to wait another five years and, and raise more money 196 00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:50,560 and we're going to wait. And we're like, God's going to 197 00:12:50,560 --> 00:12:52,200 do it. Like somehow we knew that God 198 00:12:52,200 --> 00:12:53,560 was going to do it. He wouldn't have taken us this 199 00:12:53,560 --> 00:12:55,720 far. And so I walked into the office. 200 00:12:56,280 --> 00:12:58,880 I sat on my seat. 15 minutes later, I get a phone call from a 201 00:12:58,880 --> 00:13:01,680 man who had no idea about anything that had happened with 202 00:13:01,680 --> 00:13:03,720 our building. He said our company has 203 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:06,040 $3,000,000 that we like to loan you interest free. 204 00:13:06,040 --> 00:13:10,720 Could you use $3,000,000? I was like, absolutely. 205 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,280 Just we've. Saved over a million and a half 206 00:13:13,280 --> 00:13:17,120 dollars just in interest by this family, this company giving this 207 00:13:17,320 --> 00:13:21,080 this loan to us interest free all of this time 15 minutes 208 00:13:21,080 --> 00:13:23,560 after we're sitting in the car wondering God, how in the world 209 00:13:23,560 --> 00:13:26,080 will this ever happen? He says watch, watch this. 210 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:28,800 I just want to say this, if you're part of that original 211 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:30,880 group and you're here today, thank you. 212 00:13:31,640 --> 00:13:33,800 Thank you if that's. You would you stand and be 213 00:13:33,800 --> 00:13:34,920 recognized? Come on. 214 00:13:35,040 --> 00:13:36,480 Don't be shy. Come on. 215 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:37,960 Stand up, normies. Let's go. 216 00:13:38,080 --> 00:13:39,400 I see you. Come on, Mom. 217 00:13:39,680 --> 00:13:42,520 Mom and dad, stand up. You did it. 218 00:13:42,560 --> 00:13:43,840 You did it. You did it. 219 00:13:44,320 --> 00:13:46,200 You did it. You did it. 220 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:49,160 God did it through you. There's a whole bunch of people 221 00:13:49,160 --> 00:13:50,280 not standing. There Should be standing. 222 00:13:50,280 --> 00:13:51,840 I see you hiding. Yep. 223 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,640 Praise God. They gave faithfully and 224 00:13:54,640 --> 00:13:56,480 sacrificially. That's why we're here. 225 00:13:56,920 --> 00:14:00,760 And I'm going to tell you, God is responding to your faith. 226 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,880 It's never been about the money. It's always been about the 227 00:14:03,880 --> 00:14:05,400 faith. It's never been about the money. 228 00:14:05,400 --> 00:14:08,920 It's always been about people, and God is responding. 229 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:11,520 Did you know that there's nearly 2000 people a weekend who come 230 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,280 here now who are meeting God, discovering who they are in 231 00:14:14,280 --> 00:14:16,800 Christ, becoming more like Jesus, and leading others to do 232 00:14:16,800 --> 00:14:18,120 the same? Did you know that? 233 00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,360 Did you know that? Each year we're baptizing at 234 00:14:20,360 --> 00:14:23,000 least 100 people a year, if not more. 235 00:14:23,000 --> 00:14:24,680 It keeps growing year after year Did. 236 00:14:24,680 --> 00:14:26,720 You know. That our kids ministry the 237 00:14:26,720 --> 00:14:29,000 average church. Size in America is 65. 238 00:14:29,320 --> 00:14:31,240 Our kids ministry, our. Next Gen. 239 00:14:31,240 --> 00:14:33,600 Ministry, which includes students and young adults. 240 00:14:33,680 --> 00:14:35,960 They serve over 5. 100 people a week. 241 00:14:35,960 --> 00:14:38,720 And just in the Next Gen. ministry, this is. 242 00:14:38,880 --> 00:14:44,960 Amazing thing that God. Is doing and there's there's 243 00:14:44,960 --> 00:14:46,960 stuff we do in the community that I don't think you know 244 00:14:46,960 --> 00:14:50,440 enough about. For instance, just two weeks ago 245 00:14:50,680 --> 00:14:54,560 we started our third crossroad kids club in a public school 246 00:14:54,560 --> 00:14:58,720 teaching kids about Jesus, teaching kids how to worship, 247 00:14:58,720 --> 00:15:01,080 teaching kids the word of God. We're at Westside KA. 248 00:15:01,280 --> 00:15:02,600 First time we've ever been at Westside KA. 249 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:03,560 Here they are. Look. 250 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:05,560 These are This is a public school. 251 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:08,760 Kids are bowing and praying. What? 252 00:15:09,000 --> 00:15:11,640 What does that happen? Only by the hand of God. 253 00:15:12,240 --> 00:15:15,040 Incredible program. Crossroad kids program also. 254 00:15:15,040 --> 00:15:18,080 A few weeks ago, a few months ago, a gentleman from Tampa 255 00:15:18,080 --> 00:15:20,760 called me. He said, hey, for some reason 256 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:23,880 God gave me your church and your name and I just want to meet 257 00:15:23,880 --> 00:15:25,840 you. I'm like, this is strange, OK? 258 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:27,400 We're meeting on the phone. He's like, no, we need to meet 259 00:15:27,400 --> 00:15:29,920 face to face. I'm like, OK, come on over. 260 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:33,160 We planned an hour together. We spent hours together. 261 00:15:33,400 --> 00:15:36,160 I felt like I met my long lost fourth brother. 262 00:15:37,440 --> 00:15:41,920 We had, well, third brother, me. I'd be the 4th, right? 263 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:44,200 I have two brothers now. 4th brother, third brother, 264 00:15:44,200 --> 00:15:46,960 whatever. And we connected, we laughed, we 265 00:15:46,960 --> 00:15:49,120 cried, we prayed together. And I'm just so in love with 266 00:15:49,120 --> 00:15:50,400 this guy. Like, how can we support your 267 00:15:50,400 --> 00:15:52,600 ministry? He's like, well, if you want to. 268 00:15:52,600 --> 00:15:56,080 I mean, we're building this literacy lab in our church to 269 00:15:56,080 --> 00:15:59,440 help peak kids in our neighborhood to know how to 270 00:15:59,440 --> 00:16:01,480 read. Because if they can't read, they 271 00:16:01,480 --> 00:16:03,960 can't advance like they need to. And we, we want to bring them 272 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:06,280 in, teach them literacy and then give them Jesus. 273 00:16:06,560 --> 00:16:08,640 I said we are in. How much is it to complete the 274 00:16:08,640 --> 00:16:10,760 project? He said $5000 and said the check 275 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:13,160 is on the way. And you all together by your 276 00:16:13,160 --> 00:16:16,640 giving have sent $5000 to the way church in Tampa Bay. 277 00:16:16,680 --> 00:16:19,200 Here's Pastor Keith to say. Thank you, Pastor Keith. 278 00:16:21,920 --> 00:16:24,680 I'm Keith Babb and I get the privilege of being the lead 279 00:16:24,840 --> 00:16:27,120 pastor of the Way Church of Tampa Bay. 280 00:16:27,560 --> 00:16:31,640 And I just came on to tell Pastor Tim, the Board of Elders, 281 00:16:31,720 --> 00:16:35,280 and the entire Illuminate Church family thank you for your 282 00:16:35,280 --> 00:16:38,440 generosity. I know this may not look like 283 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:42,600 much behind me, but because of your kindness, this room is 284 00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:46,600 going to be turned into a family resource room and learning 285 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:49,160 literacy lab. And here's what I really want 286 00:16:49,160 --> 00:16:52,640 you to know. Beyond reading this room will 287 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:58,640 mean the rescue of another life beyond even comprehension. 288 00:16:58,760 --> 00:17:01,880 It's going to be another soul that's going to come in covenant 289 00:17:01,880 --> 00:17:06,760 with the Lord beyond resources. Another life is going to be 290 00:17:06,760 --> 00:17:09,760 redeemed. So I want to tell you again, 291 00:17:09,920 --> 00:17:13,319 thank you, Illuminate Church family, and thank you for the 292 00:17:13,319 --> 00:17:17,760 lives that will be impacted tremendously, not just here on 293 00:17:17,760 --> 00:17:29,440 earth, but for eternity. Pastor Keith and his wife. 294 00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:31,520 We were just growing closer together. 295 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:34,560 We're about to, I was about to say have a sleepover. 296 00:17:34,560 --> 00:17:38,920 That just sounds weird, but they're coming over with some 297 00:17:38,920 --> 00:17:42,320 other pastors from Florida and some from Texas as well. 298 00:17:42,320 --> 00:17:44,680 And we're just going to meet here and reunion and pray 299 00:17:44,680 --> 00:17:47,360 together and worship together. And I'm, I just feel so in love 300 00:17:47,360 --> 00:17:49,040 with this guy and his, his church. 301 00:17:49,040 --> 00:17:50,720 And I thank you for giving faithfully here. 302 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,000 Because you did that, we're able to do things like that. 303 00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:57,400 Amen. So I just believe that God is 304 00:17:57,400 --> 00:18:01,320 saying I'm not done yet here and there's so much more that is yet 305 00:18:01,320 --> 00:18:03,760 to have happened. We have so much vision still in 306 00:18:03,760 --> 00:18:05,760 US of what God wants to do on this property. 307 00:18:05,760 --> 00:18:08,160 We're only about 1/4 of done what we want to do on the 308 00:18:08,160 --> 00:18:11,080 property. So much more ministry and life 309 00:18:11,280 --> 00:18:13,320 to the community that we can be doing. 310 00:18:13,640 --> 00:18:17,000 And God has been so good and faithful to us. 311 00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:21,440 And today I want to give you an opportunity to say thank you to 312 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,200 God, to give God a gift. If you were, if you will, 313 00:18:25,480 --> 00:18:28,840 Proverbs chapter 19 verse 17 says whoever is kind to the 314 00:18:28,840 --> 00:18:34,680 poor, lends to the Lord, gives to the Lord and he God will 315 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,040 reward them for what they have done. 316 00:18:37,720 --> 00:18:41,520 Way back in 2002, we had our first child, Owen, and shortly 317 00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:44,200 after that we went to a Sunday at our church and had a 318 00:18:44,200 --> 00:18:47,080 compassion Sunday and we adopted a child. 319 00:18:47,080 --> 00:18:51,880 His name was Elva Stone Masharia from Kenya, and he's a he was 320 00:18:51,880 --> 00:18:54,640 the same age as our son. And they've grown up together. 321 00:18:54,640 --> 00:18:57,160 And every time that we've had a child, we then added another and 322 00:18:57,160 --> 00:18:59,680 another. And some of our kids have 323 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:01,800 graduated the program. We've taken on new kids. 324 00:19:01,800 --> 00:19:05,800 We have three kids that we have personally adopted because we 325 00:19:05,800 --> 00:19:09,240 believe in the ministry of Compassion International. 326 00:19:09,360 --> 00:19:12,560 And it's an opportunity to say thank you. 327 00:19:12,560 --> 00:19:15,360 God, I love you so much. And I'm so grateful for what 328 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:17,800 you've done in my life that I want to give it to another. 329 00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:23,120 And I'll make a small sacrifice, $43 a month in my life to change 330 00:19:23,120 --> 00:19:28,480 the eternal destiny of a kid. One such kid is here that has 331 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,240 grown up through the program and is now making in a massive 332 00:19:31,240 --> 00:19:35,080 impact in her nation, also from Kenya. 333 00:19:35,640 --> 00:19:37,800 And I'm going to show you a video and then I want you to 334 00:19:37,800 --> 00:19:40,280 give a huge welcome to our guest from Compassion. 335 00:19:40,520 --> 00:19:42,160 Maureen Kaderi, would you please watch this? 336 00:19:43,200 --> 00:19:47,760 My name is Maureen Kaderi. I was born in Karubangi. 337 00:19:48,400 --> 00:19:53,240 Life was not so easy, especially as a girl child and as a baby in 338 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,680 the slum. My mum was not working, My dad 339 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,800 was a cashew labourer. The days he was working, he will 340 00:19:58,800 --> 00:20:03,840 get like. $10 a month. And our house was $6.00, so you 341 00:20:03,840 --> 00:20:06,360 can imagine how we will survive with $4.00. 342 00:20:06,720 --> 00:20:10,200 Poverty brings bondage. Where you. 343 00:20:10,200 --> 00:20:14,040 Tend to feel like this is me and this is how I live and this is 344 00:20:14,040 --> 00:20:17,160 how I die. But the moment I joined 345 00:20:17,160 --> 00:20:21,160 Compassion when I was seven years old, my life changed. 346 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,800 The compassion. Project was a second family to 347 00:20:24,800 --> 00:20:29,480 me where. I received even more. 348 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:33,320 Love, you know and care at a very personal level. 349 00:20:33,600 --> 00:20:36,560 I remember the first time I got a picture, a photo of my 350 00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:39,880 sponsors and a letter. I was so excited. 351 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:43,760 I believed in myself and I believed that I was beautiful 352 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:47,560 and I started loving myself. And the letter continued that I 353 00:20:47,560 --> 00:20:49,400 want you to know that we love you so much. 354 00:20:49,600 --> 00:20:54,400 We are always praying for you. I received hope and compassion. 355 00:20:55,640 --> 00:20:57,880 And you know. That is where I was taught how 356 00:20:57,880 --> 00:21:00,600 to pray. I got my first Bible and I was 357 00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:04,080 taught how to read the Bible and believe in the words that were 358 00:21:04,080 --> 00:21:07,600 in the written in the Bible. And I started working hard. 359 00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:12,760 I got yes, education academics, which helped, but also these 360 00:21:12,840 --> 00:21:17,480 other livelihood skills which kinda empowered me, transformed 361 00:21:17,480 --> 00:21:21,120 me and brought myself worth. I started believing that I can 362 00:21:21,120 --> 00:21:23,480 do something. You know, my dreams are valid. 363 00:21:23,560 --> 00:21:26,600 All these things is because of what I learned from the 364 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,960 Compassion Project. I am who I am. 365 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:33,160 Today, because of compassion. What I went through. 366 00:21:33,640 --> 00:21:38,280 Has shaped who I am right now and what I do. 367 00:21:38,440 --> 00:21:43,680 I started Rehema House Christian and nonprofit organization which 368 00:21:43,680 --> 00:21:48,240 rescues young, poor, pregnant girls from the streets and slums 369 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:50,120 of Kenya. To me, Rehema is a baby of 370 00:21:50,120 --> 00:21:51,840 compassion. There's counselling, there's 371 00:21:51,840 --> 00:21:53,320 discipleship, there's mentorship. 372 00:21:53,320 --> 00:21:54,840 We have people working with them. 373 00:21:55,240 --> 00:21:59,240 I love these girls and. I connect you. 374 00:21:59,560 --> 00:22:02,760 I connect everything happening with my story because. 375 00:22:03,280 --> 00:22:06,360 That's why I'm. Thankful for my background. 376 00:22:07,240 --> 00:22:09,640 If. I never went through what I went 377 00:22:09,640 --> 00:22:11,840 through. I will not give the guys my all. 378 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:14,560 I know what it means. Go hungry for days. 379 00:22:14,600 --> 00:22:16,640 These guys, that is what they're facing right now. 380 00:22:16,960 --> 00:22:20,560 I'm able to fit in their shoes. You don't have to be reached to 381 00:22:20,760 --> 00:22:23,080 have a good impact. There is power. 382 00:22:23,480 --> 00:22:26,440 Let me tell you, there is power in. 383 00:22:27,200 --> 00:22:31,160 Holding other people's hands, that is what compassion did, 384 00:22:31,160 --> 00:22:35,040 that is what my sponsors did, is hope that trickles down to the 385 00:22:35,040 --> 00:22:37,720 family, to the community and to the world. 386 00:22:46,880 --> 00:23:25,640 Thank you. Thank you so much. 387 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:29,400 That song says today is a good day because you have seen the 388 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:32,160 Lord, Illuminate Church has seen the Lord. 389 00:23:32,720 --> 00:23:36,520 And now, now let me wish you happy anniversary. 390 00:23:37,760 --> 00:23:42,000 Happy anniversary or something like that. 391 00:23:42,640 --> 00:23:50,000 Sikuye New Year Kuzaliwa Sikuye newly. 392 00:24:07,120 --> 00:24:09,640 Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Illuminate 393 00:24:09,640 --> 00:24:13,320 Church, and thank you so much, Pastor Tim, for having me all 394 00:24:13,320 --> 00:24:18,360 the way from Kenya and to all the glory, all the honor to 395 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:22,600 Yahweh ABBA, our ABBA Father, the one who was, who is, and who 396 00:24:22,600 --> 00:24:25,080 is to come. Let's give God a round of 397 00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:28,200 applause. Thank you so much, Jesus. 398 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:33,880 And just as you've come back today to say thank you, I'm here 399 00:24:33,880 --> 00:24:37,480 today to say thank you. Thank you to God and thank you 400 00:24:37,480 --> 00:24:40,440 to my sponsors. I don't know what you're going 401 00:24:40,440 --> 00:24:45,360 through today, but regardless of that, I want you to believe that 402 00:24:45,360 --> 00:24:49,160 God is God. I am a living miracle. 403 00:24:49,160 --> 00:24:52,040 The story I'm sharing is not mine, but it is God's story. 404 00:24:52,040 --> 00:24:56,240 God rewrote my story. I was born and raised in 405 00:24:56,240 --> 00:25:01,480 Kariobangi slum, the third largest slum in Kenya. 406 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:10,320 My family and more than hundreds of our neighbors lived in the 407 00:25:10,320 --> 00:25:13,000 confines of just three square miles. 408 00:25:14,840 --> 00:25:21,280 Every open space was filled with garbage, sewage and scrap 409 00:25:21,280 --> 00:25:25,920 materials that people fastened into makeshift homes. 410 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:36,360 Poverty, chaos and darkness was so much in the slum that it 411 00:25:36,400 --> 00:25:40,200 threatened the very life or to suffocate the very life out of 412 00:25:40,200 --> 00:25:48,200 us. Extreme poverty, extreme anger, 413 00:25:51,320 --> 00:25:58,400 substance abuse, violence, backstreet abortion, survival, 414 00:25:58,400 --> 00:26:02,640 prostitution and crime. Rain wild in the slum. 415 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:16,160 My name is Maureen Kaderi and even as a young girl I realize 416 00:26:16,400 --> 00:26:24,240 it will either take death or a miracle for me to escape 417 00:26:24,560 --> 00:26:26,320 poverty. Cruel grip. 418 00:26:27,760 --> 00:26:30,240 There was no bathroom in the slum. 419 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:35,400 We used what is called a flying toilet where you take a plastic 420 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:40,040 bag, release your waist, swing it and then release it wherever 421 00:26:40,040 --> 00:26:42,600 it falls. That is where it was meant to 422 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,080 be. So if you are walking and it 423 00:26:44,080 --> 00:26:50,920 lands on your face, that is why it was meant to be a miracle in 424 00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,360 the slum. Can something good come out of 425 00:26:54,360 --> 00:27:01,920 Kariobangi? My three siblings, my parents 426 00:27:01,920 --> 00:27:11,400 and I lived in a 10 foot by 10 foot room that was made of mud 427 00:27:13,520 --> 00:27:19,400 and rusted metal roof that had so many holes in the middle of 428 00:27:19,400 --> 00:27:23,960 the house. There was a dirty tattered 429 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:28,360 curtain that hung in the middle separating the cooking area from 430 00:27:28,360 --> 00:27:39,520 the sleeping area. Despite our parents hard work we 431 00:27:39,520 --> 00:27:50,160 went for days because the only we only survived on $10 or less 432 00:27:50,160 --> 00:27:55,880 in a month. So most of the times that will 433 00:27:55,880 --> 00:28:00,160 go 4-5 days without eating and if we had to eat, they were 434 00:28:00,160 --> 00:28:04,240 rotten fruits and rock rotten vegetables that we picked from 435 00:28:04,240 --> 00:28:09,560 the nearby dump site or market. Remember our house was made of 436 00:28:09,560 --> 00:28:15,640 that floor and the roof had so many holes. 437 00:28:16,520 --> 00:28:20,320 So every time we'll sleep, we'll count so many number of stars 438 00:28:20,680 --> 00:28:24,080 that were on the sky because of the holes. 439 00:28:25,120 --> 00:28:29,480 Last months or days when it rained at night, we will all 440 00:28:29,480 --> 00:28:33,920 squeeze in a corner that was dry until it stops raining. 441 00:28:34,560 --> 00:28:37,560 And even when it stopped raining, we could not go back to 442 00:28:37,560 --> 00:28:41,480 sleep. Sleep was impossible because the 443 00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:50,040 dirt flow turned into mud. Even amongst the poor, I felt we 444 00:28:50,040 --> 00:28:55,720 were the poorest. I was so bitter with God, so 445 00:28:55,800 --> 00:29:02,400 angry. If God exists, why would we go 446 00:29:02,400 --> 00:29:03,760 through what you are going through? 447 00:29:03,960 --> 00:29:08,320 That is what I thought at one time. 448 00:29:08,320 --> 00:29:10,720 I contemplated. You know, I wish we were all 449 00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:14,120 dead, other than hoping for a miracle that mine will never 450 00:29:14,120 --> 00:29:22,800 come. But God saw me and even maybe 451 00:29:22,800 --> 00:29:27,720 before I talk about God seeing me, I will never forget the day 452 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:37,000 our mum cooked stones or she boiled stones in a pot because 453 00:29:37,000 --> 00:29:42,360 she wanted to give us hope and comfort of a warm meal. 454 00:29:45,280 --> 00:29:54,840 That is what mothers do. But God saw me, His face shined 455 00:29:54,840 --> 00:30:01,040 so bright upon me. The darkness of poverty in 456 00:30:01,040 --> 00:30:08,560 Kariobang Islam was no much of His light of mercy on me and my 457 00:30:08,560 --> 00:30:14,400 family. When I was seven years old, I 458 00:30:14,400 --> 00:30:19,280 was enrolled in Compassion International Child Development 459 00:30:19,280 --> 00:30:24,000 program at a local church. I will never forget the first 460 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:28,000 day when I got there. That is the place where I felt 461 00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:36,120 loved, accepted and wanted. We played with the toys. 462 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,680 I had never had any toy. We sang, we dance for mid 463 00:30:41,680 --> 00:30:45,920 morning. We were given tea with milk and 464 00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,680 sugar and a donut. During lunchtime. 465 00:30:51,920 --> 00:30:58,560 I was given a steaming plate of rice, beef Stew, cabbage and 466 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:03,920 fresh fruits for the very first time. 467 00:31:04,440 --> 00:31:09,480 My stomach was so full. Every Saturday became Christmas 468 00:31:09,480 --> 00:31:13,920 for me and I was always looking forward to every Saturday. 469 00:31:14,480 --> 00:31:18,000 And so I devised a plan because my family had gone for days 470 00:31:18,000 --> 00:31:19,120 without eating. At least I was. 471 00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:22,200 Saturdays I will eat. So I started carrying a plastic 472 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,880 bag with me and hiding it. So during lunchtime, I'll go for 473 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:29,920 my first plate and then go back for a second serving, third 474 00:31:29,920 --> 00:31:33,760 serving and 4th serving, pretending that I'm not full and 475 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,280 then pour it all in the plastic bag to take back home. 476 00:31:38,360 --> 00:31:41,080 I believe the cooks thought I had a bottomless stomach. 477 00:31:43,800 --> 00:31:47,360 One thing that really stood out for me is that the compassion 478 00:31:47,360 --> 00:31:52,880 staff never shamed me or stopped me. 479 00:31:55,320 --> 00:32:01,320 In school, I used to be called a hyena because I was always 480 00:32:02,040 --> 00:32:07,440 begging, stealing other people's food and kids called me a hyena, 481 00:32:07,440 --> 00:32:09,480 which really lowered myself esteem. 482 00:32:10,080 --> 00:32:13,920 And so for the compassion staff, not stopping me or shaming me 483 00:32:14,120 --> 00:32:22,860 meant so much to me. I was given my beloved sponsors, 484 00:32:23,740 --> 00:32:28,060 Mr. Rick and Roxanne Robinson, who loved me so much, who we 485 00:32:28,060 --> 00:32:29,820 communicated through letter writing. 486 00:32:30,140 --> 00:32:32,340 And I remember in one of the letters they said, Maureen, we 487 00:32:32,340 --> 00:32:34,980 love you so much. We are praying for you. 488 00:32:35,140 --> 00:32:37,500 We have a picture of you in our refrigerator. 489 00:32:37,860 --> 00:32:41,220 As much as I was proud about a picture of me in a refrigerator, 490 00:32:41,920 --> 00:32:44,560 the truth is I did not know what a refrigerator was. 491 00:32:46,320 --> 00:32:48,600 So I had to go and ask the compassion staff what is a 492 00:32:48,600 --> 00:32:50,680 refrigerator? And she explained to me it's a 493 00:32:50,680 --> 00:32:54,680 big box that people store food, rich people store food in it and 494 00:32:54,680 --> 00:32:58,400 makes it cold. And one time she had to take me 495 00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:01,280 somewhere to show me how it looked like. 496 00:33:02,040 --> 00:33:04,200 And the letter continued. You are beautiful. 497 00:33:05,240 --> 00:33:07,160 I'm Maureen. Beautiful. 498 00:33:07,480 --> 00:33:13,120 I used to be called Hyena. Malnourished, but they saw me 499 00:33:13,120 --> 00:33:18,040 and said I was beautiful and they said poverty does not 500 00:33:18,040 --> 00:33:20,760 determine your future, it shapes it. 501 00:33:21,520 --> 00:33:25,680 And as I stand before you here today, I live that, and I'm so 502 00:33:25,680 --> 00:33:29,440 grateful to God for poverty, because poverty did not 503 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:32,000 determine my future. It shaped it. 504 00:33:35,160 --> 00:33:39,600 I'm grateful to compassion. Because I received my first 505 00:33:39,600 --> 00:33:44,520 Bible from Compassion Project, I was taught how to pray and I 506 00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:47,160 surrendered my life to Christ through the word of God that was 507 00:33:47,160 --> 00:33:49,280 shared. Matthew 633 Seek ye first the 508 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:52,480 Kingdom of God, and all the other things shall be added unto 509 00:33:52,480 --> 00:33:55,640 you. When I received Christ, I 510 00:33:55,640 --> 00:33:59,760 received everything and I'm so grateful to compassion because 511 00:33:59,760 --> 00:34:02,480 that is the best thing that they gave me. 512 00:34:03,600 --> 00:34:05,320 Thank you SO. Much when you grow. 513 00:34:05,320 --> 00:34:10,639 In poverty, you live both in physical and spiritual poverty, 514 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:13,360 but right now it did not matter what I was going through because 515 00:34:13,360 --> 00:34:18,760 I knew I was spiritually rich. It is through compassion. 516 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:23,159 That I learned that it is impossible to. 517 00:34:23,159 --> 00:34:26,920 Meet someone's spiritual. Needs until you meet their 518 00:34:26,920 --> 00:34:32,360 physical needs. The hope of Christ. 519 00:34:32,880 --> 00:34:39,080 Rewrites Stories I went from last in my class to being the 520 00:34:39,080 --> 00:34:42,719 first person in my family to attend and graduate from 521 00:34:42,719 --> 00:34:46,239 college. Thank. 522 00:34:46,239 --> 00:34:48,840 You and as I. Stand before you here today. 523 00:34:49,239 --> 00:34:52,400 I'm the founder and executive director of Rehema Foundation 524 00:34:52,560 --> 00:34:56,400 where we rescue young poor pregnant girls from the streets 525 00:34:56,600 --> 00:34:59,760 and slum of Kenya. These are girls aged 15 and 526 00:34:59,760 --> 00:35:03,120 below who are pregnant either due to rape, incest and survival 527 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:07,600 prostitution and the only option they have is either to commit 528 00:35:07,840 --> 00:35:11,880 suicide or procure an abortion. As a Christian minister, the 529 00:35:11,880 --> 00:35:13,720 only option we have is Jesus Christ. 530 00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:17,960 So we love on them until they love on Jesus and keep their 531 00:35:17,960 --> 00:35:21,880 babies. I went from surviving. 532 00:35:21,880 --> 00:35:25,880 In the slum to. Helping teenage. 533 00:35:25,880 --> 00:35:30,040 Mothers escape the darkness of poverty in the slum. 534 00:35:30,840 --> 00:35:35,120 I went from being sponsored to becoming a sponsor through 535 00:35:35,120 --> 00:35:39,360 compassion for children. To be exact, the first child 536 00:35:39,360 --> 00:35:43,040 that we sponsored was a gift to me from my husband when we got 537 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:45,080 married. That was in 2013. 538 00:35:49,880 --> 00:35:54,520 I went from. Wanting to die to living a life 539 00:35:54,760 --> 00:35:58,520 of purpose. I will tell you this sponsorship 540 00:35:58,520 --> 00:36:01,360 is so powerful. It is not just about changing 541 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:06,320 one life, but it's all about changing destinies and changing 542 00:36:06,400 --> 00:36:09,600 generation. I'm so grateful to my sponsors 543 00:36:09,760 --> 00:36:15,640 who they not only saw a packet, but they saw a world changer. 544 00:36:16,200 --> 00:36:18,960 They believed in me even when I when I did not believe in 545 00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:21,400 myself. And they not only touched my 546 00:36:21,400 --> 00:36:25,720 life, poverty ended with me. My children no longer face 547 00:36:25,720 --> 00:36:28,560 poverty. I was able to take my family out 548 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,080 of poverty. The 90 gas that we've rescued 549 00:36:32,280 --> 00:36:35,520 and the 90 miracle babies that have been born, the 64 women 550 00:36:35,520 --> 00:36:38,400 under our community artisan group, there are 100 children 551 00:36:38,400 --> 00:36:42,320 who attend Bible study. All this is because of one 552 00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:45,720 couple that said yes because they said yes. 553 00:36:45,880 --> 00:36:50,000 I keep saying yes it has. Not only changed my. 554 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:51,760 Life and my family and my community. 555 00:36:51,880 --> 00:36:55,240 But sponsorship has also changed their life. 556 00:36:55,560 --> 00:36:58,760 My sponsor testifies of this every now and again. 557 00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:01,520 They were able to pass that on to their children and now to 558 00:37:01,520 --> 00:37:04,080 their grandchildren, who are now sponsors. 559 00:37:05,760 --> 00:37:08,680 As I conclude if. You ever think of me? 560 00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:13,280 Maureen Caderi, if you are down there and feeling hopeless, I 561 00:37:13,280 --> 00:37:16,000 want you to remember all the things that God did to me. 562 00:37:16,200 --> 00:37:17,760 Please remember these three things. 563 00:37:17,920 --> 00:37:26,440 One that God is good #2 the gospel changes lives and #3 564 00:37:27,640 --> 00:37:34,600 compassion program in Jesus name transforms lives, it transforms 565 00:37:34,600 --> 00:37:38,200 mine. And my prayer today is that you 566 00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:43,200 will be that miracle that a child in poverty is praying for 567 00:37:43,720 --> 00:37:48,480 with me today. Here is Rod Nason from Haiti, 9 568 00:37:48,480 --> 00:37:51,280 years old. Who would want to be the next 569 00:37:51,280 --> 00:37:53,800 Marine? There are so many children 570 00:37:53,800 --> 00:37:58,120 outside there who are waiting for one person or a couple or 571 00:37:58,280 --> 00:38:03,240 whoever it is to pick a packet and bring hope in their lives. 572 00:38:03,440 --> 00:38:05,840 Remember the hope of Christ spreads. 573 00:38:06,160 --> 00:38:08,240 Thank you so much and God bless you. 574 00:38:11,640 --> 00:38:14,760 Thanks for joining us today. We hope God is speaking to your 575 00:38:14,760 --> 00:38:17,360 heart through this message. If you'd like to connect with 576 00:38:17,360 --> 00:38:24,560 us, you can text connect to 407-588-0115 or visit Illuminate 577 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:27,160 dot church. Have a great week.